Deadline:

November 20, 2016

Disciplines:

Open Call for Participants

Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe is announcing a call for participants for the Study Session “Think global, Learn international, Act local”. The event is taking place in the European Youth Centre Budapest, Hungary in cooperation with the Council of Europe’s Youth Department from 23 – 27 January 2017. Participants are also expected to be available for online communication and preparatory work during the December and January before the Study session.

This Study Session will gather 35 participants with different backgrounds and offer them space to explore the role and evaluate the impact of international educational activities on youth work at local level based on the values and methods of NFE. We aim for a diverse group of participants, therefore we would like to gather people both with an extensive knowledge and background of non formal education, but also people coming from local youth organisations, who have participated in international youth events before and would like to share their experiences with the others.

The study session is especially calling for :

Young people with medium and high experience in the field of youth work and non-formal education

Members of youth organisations from Europe, who are involved in political work on the local level

Young people involved in international networks that deal with youth participation

NFE educators and facilitators as well as people incorporating NFE methods in their activism/work

Young people engaged in youth policy making on national and international levels

Criteria of gender, geographical and regional balance as well as diverse background of experience will be taken into consideration while selecting the participants for the Study Session. Youth workers from (or working in/with) vulnerable communities are particularly encouraged to apply. The session is primarily aimed at participants between the ages of 18 and 30 with some exceptions over the age of 30.

All the sessions of the event will be delivered in English, therefore the applicants are expected to have a working level of it.

Accommodation (lodging, food, refreshments) and travel costs are fully covered by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe. The participation fee is 50 EUR. The fee is deducted from the refund of travel expenses. The call is open for applicants coming from Council of Europe member states, Kosovo*, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Participants are expected to attend for the whole duration of the activity.

Since its foundation in 2002, CDN has organized and participated in vast number of international activities, regional events, youth exchanges, trainings and capacity building events. In early 2000s international events presented one of the few opportunities for youth to travel and meet different cultural contexts and were important tool for building up trust and peace. With Bologna universities official mobility and interdisciplinary approach are fostered, usage of internet amplified, borders started to open and possibilities for intercultural exchanges increased. Broader possibilities have contributed to changed motivation of young people to join international youth work.

As an organization which was funded with the aim to build capacities of young people and organizations in EE, to strengthen their role and position in political life and decision making on local level, we want to explore the role of international youth work in political maturing of activists and organizations on local level. We see this event as very sincere exchange of experience and observations, self-criticism and motivation to improve; supported by professionals in different spheres of youth work, being it political, educational or any other role.

The aim of this study session is to critically evaluate and advance role of international youth work in political maturing of activists and organizations on local level.

We would like to examine several aspects of international work and together with other international youth workers come to the terms on:

Objective 1: To explore the level of coordination of political work of youth on European and national level nowadays

Objective 2. To assess how results and ideas from international educational events are complementary on local level

Objective 3. To evaluate the capacity building potential of international events for the development of national and local organizations and activists

Conclusions from this study session will offer a better insight into the concrete needs and expectations of young people participating in international activities and an overview (potentially also indicators of success) of types of results and outputs that lead to concrete outcomes and changes on local level. Both will be applicable for any national and international youth organization and network that works with youth and participates on European level. For CDN, this project in the long-term will result in the increase of quality, professionalism and efficacy of our projects and thus support to young people on local level in their daily activism.

Details

Methodology

The program is envisioned in such a way that participants and prep team are studying, exploring and coming to the conclusions together. We are aware this requires different approach then usual. Prep team is not expected to exclusively be the one to lead the learning process of participants to a certain goal, but rather ensure the exploration process of the main problematic points, while participants are a think-tank. Hence, methods and approach will be planned accordingly to ensure creative and inspiring environment to foster qualitative discussions, enable analytical assessments and exchanges, and result in concrete conclusions and outputs. Learning process should go both horizontally and vertically. It will be based on principles of non-formal education and be versatile to accommodate different learning styles. Emphasis is to give equal opportunity to every participant to gain, share and develop knowledge and skills.

For more official information click "Further official information" below.